


.exe

by melodramatic



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: High School AU, M/M, Mentions of Anxiety, it's just a bunch of fluff not gonna lie, josh and tyler are both kinda dorks, late night drabble, no capitalization, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 18:56:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10393911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodramatic/pseuds/melodramatic
Summary: tyler loved video games, josh loved video games. it just made sense.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I dedicate this story to steviewantsjoshler, because she's the one that gave me the inspiration for this prompt.

tyler tried to his best to lay low and stay quiet when it came to school. he sat in the back, kept his head low, and only answered questions when he was called on directly.

he wasn't shy (and he _sure as hell_ didn't like when people assumed he was), he was just struck with an anxious sort of blood that ran through his veins when he was forced to speak in front of crowds or even people he was used to being around.

it just wasn't his scene.

and no one understood that better than the kid he sat next to in math class. 

the kid that always took out his both of his earbuds to talk to tyler. 

"what problem are you on?" tyler whispered to josh one afternoon in class, as everyone worked silently on an assignment. 

josh glanced at his paper, and then back at tyler, "fourteen. you?"

tyler frowned, "i'm stuck on number twelve. can you help me?"

josh nodded, "yeah, of course. the formula is kinda tricky, but once-"

"is everything okay, josh?"

josh whipped around to see that their teacher was looming over them, watching them talk. a few students had turned around to see who the teacher was about to reprimand, but for the most part, everyone was still doing their work. 

"yeah - we're fine, mrs. fedele. i was just helping tyler with number twelve."

mrs. fedele looked up towards tyler who had turned his attention back to his paper. she walked over to him and squatted so that she and tyler were eye-to-eye.

"you're having trouble with problem twelve?"

"uh, just a little bit. i think i got it now, though," tyler said, his gaze not diverting from his desk. his leg was bouncing up and down underneath the desk, and josh wanted to give him a hug. 

"are you sure?" she asked.

tyler nodded.

she stood up and patted him on the back, "okay. well let me know if you need any help, alright?"

tyler didn't say anything. 

the bell rang for them to attend their next class, and before tyler darted off into the hallway, josh gently placed his hand on his shoulder. 

he handed him a slip of paper he had ripped from the side of his assignment.

"here's my number. for, uh, math reasons of course. if you need help on another assignment, you can call me. or text me. or whatever," josh stated, scratching the back of his neck.

tyler's body temperature increased, and he avoided eye contact with josh at all costs.

"oh, okay. thank you. i'll call you. if i need help with my math," tyler said, folding the note neatly and shoving it into his pocket.

"i'll see you tomorrow," he said, heading into the hallway before josh said anything else. it wasn't that he didn't want to talk to josh - he _always_ wanted to talk to josh - he just wished there weren't so many eyes around to watch his every movement and every action.

(    )

tyler did end up calling josh. it was related to math, in fact. josh answered after three rings and tyler asked him if he had written down all of the notes from yesterday's lecture.

of course he did, he responded and tyler's hand burned where he held the phone against his ear. josh sent him a picture of the notes, and there was a small winky emoticon right beneath it. tyler's heart skipped a beat, but he immediately closed out the message, as he didn't actually need the notes. he was a very diligent note taker, and got down every word from yesterday's lecture.

but when josh asked him the next day if the notes helped him at all, tyler responsed with an enthusiatic yes, and thanked josh for sending them.

(    )

the first time josh came over to tyler's house, they had every intention of studying for finals together. josh came with books, binders, penicls and pens, and tyler was already overwhelmed at the sight of it all. 

"i suggest we take a break," josh said, leaning against the wall of tyler's bedroom, accidentally hitting his head in the process. he frowned, but tyler laughed.

"you don't have to hurt yourself to take a break, josh, i don't mind not studying for a second," tyler joked. josh laughed and small lines formed next to eyes that corresponded to the amount of teeth he was showing.

his smile was truly something out of a movie. except for the fact that the best director in the world couldn't script a smile as beautiful as josh's was in the moment.

when tyler realized he had been staring at josh for just a tad bit too long, he immediately fixed his gaze elsewhere. he looked towards the small tv and console he had in his room.

"wanna play a game?" he asked.

josh pursed his lips, "what do you have?"

tyler went up to his video game collection he had sitting on his dresser, and picked up a few of them.

"um, well, i have donkey kong, a few mario games, tomb raider-"

"tomb raider!" josh shouted, pumping his fists in the air. tyler chuckled, and raised an eyebrow.

"really?" he asked.

"yes, of course! it's gotta be one of the best series out there. you have to play it for me," josh told him, rubbing the back of his head.

"why me?"

"it's your game. plus, it's single player. it's fine, though, i wanna watch how you play it. you could probably find more easter eggs than i could."

and so their tradition started. on weekends, breaks, or just days off, one of them would go over to the other's house and watch them play a game that they themselves were unsure of. 

and when tyler was under a particularly bad spell of anxiety, he would climb the roof to josh's room and knock on the window. whether the room was dark, light, silent, or blaring with music, josh almost immediately turned towards the sound. he let tyler in without hesitation each time, and tyler would sit on josh's bed with his knees tucked into his chest and would watch josh play a new or old game.

usually, josh would play level after level of a game, all the while rambling on about a cheat code he used, a different texture pack he found, or the orgin of one or more characters in the game. and tyler would listen. he would nod his head, and eventually josh would get a laugh or chuckle from the boy, and tyler would feel better.

one night something was off, though. more than usual. 

josh paused his progress in silent hill. half of it was because tyler wasn't paying regular attention like he usually did, and the other half was because he was scared out of his wits.

either way, he turned towards tyler who kept his eyes fixed on the screen.

"are you okay, ty?"

tyler nodded.

"no you're not."

tyler didn't say anything. 

josh scooted closer so that their body heat intermingled, and he put his arm around tyler's shoulder. the young boy leaned into josh's side, his face on josh's chest. he took a deep breath. 

"y'know, if you weren't here, i wouldn't even be thinking of playing this game," josh stated.

tyler looked up. "why not?"

"'cause it's scary as hell. but," josh looked at tyler who was looking up at him, patiently waiting for josh to finish his sentence. and josh wondered how he could ever be expected not to kiss tyler. he was beautiful.

truly, honestly, naturally beautiful. 

josh's eyes flicked down to tyler's nose. it had this perfect slope that the greatest sculptor in the world couldn't bring justice to. 

"but what?" tyler asked after the room had been settled in silence.

josh blinked himself out of his daze, "but you make it less scary. or something."

tyler looked at him for a few more moments before he took another deep breath and rested his head back on josh's chest. 

it was awhile before josh unpaused the game.

(    )

"have you ever played an exe file before?" josh asked tyler one day after they receeded back into josh's room after doing homework in his living room. 

"an exe file? what's that?" tyler asked.

josh grabbed his laptop and layed stomach-down on his bed, tyler plopping down next to him in the exact same position. 

"well, technically it just means that it's an executable file, but people make games out of them. and they're usually scary games. for example," josh clicked a folder on his homescreen and a few clicks later, he was in his downloaded games folder, "this is just a regular sonic game."

he cirlced the mouse around a file entitled "sonic." 

"but," he dragged the mouse down until he reached another file that looked similar, "this is sonic.exe. it's way... creepier. i haven't played it yet, though. i was waiting for you."

tyler looked at josh, who was still messing around with the files on his screen. by the time josh made eye contact with him, he had started to trace patterns on josh's face with his eyes. he really liked looking at josh's face. one could even say he loved it, in fact.

"can i tell you a secret, josh?" tyler asked suddenly.

josh's mind was completely detached from his laptop now, his entire attention focused on tyler.

"yeah, dude, you know you can tell me anything," he said, shifting his body to face tyler more.

tyler looked down to where josh was propping his head up on his elbow. he let his eyes drift to josh's torso, and then to his midriff where his shirt had ridden up a bit and the lower part of his belly was exposed.

when tyler's neck started to heat up, he looked back at josh who's gaze never faltered.

"you're my best friend."

josh cracked a smile and laughed lightly, "is that really what you wanted to tell me?" 

tyler hesitated, but he nodded nontheless. josh simply quirked an eyebrow and laughed again, turning his attention back to his laptop.

"let me show you the other exe files i have," he said. tyler let his eyes linger on josh for one more second before he followed josh's mouse on the screen. 

and if tyler didn't know any better, he would've thought the small smirk on josh's face was because of him.

(    )

it was dark and raining when tyler knocked on josh's glass for what easily could've been the hundreth time in just that week, it seemed. tyler was a mess. he was always a mess. 

even the weather was a mess. it was the middle of june, and it should've been bright and warm outside, but instead it was pouring buckets. tyler had just woken up from a particularly jarring dream. 

in his dream josh didn't want to do homework with him anymore, and he told him he would never play another video game for him again. tyler was crying (in the dream and in real life), and he asked josh to at least leave him his laptop. josh refused and left without a trace.

so tyler was relieved at the least when he knocked on josh's window, and the boy shot up from his bed, groggily walking over to his window and opening it. he blinked hard once, twice, three times before he registered the state tyler was in.

"ty, you're all wet," he stated, leading the boy into his room, regardless. 

tyler was shaking from the cold, from the rain, and from the thoughts in his head. 

"hey, what's wrong?" he asked, putting his hands on tyler's shoulders. when tyler's tears started to fall even harder, josh pulled him in for a close hug, and he didn't mind that his pajamas were getting soaked. 

"did you have the dream again?" josh asked softly. tyler nodded, wrapping his arms around josh in return. 

josh let tyler weep in silence, rubbing his back in small, comforting motions. when tyler's tears finally began to slow down, josh wiped the wet tracks from his cheeks. they made eye contact and josh decided right then and there that he was absolutely smitten. 

even in the dark, with the rain pounding on his window, and with tyler leaving wet footprints all over his just-cleaned carpet, he was sure he'd never seen someone as beatiful.

josh decided to take a risk, and he leaned down to kiss tyler's left cheek, where he knew the tears fell harder. tyler stood frozen, not moving away, but also not advancing. 

"you know i'd never leave you, right?" he asked into the dark.

tyler nodded, his breath stuttering. 

"you're my best friend, tyler."

tyler shivered and brought his hands up to cup josh's face. josh put his hands on tyler's wrists, caressing the soft inside with his thumbs.

"you're my best friend, too."

and they stood just like that, together, in the dark. they were frozen in the moment together, and even the rain seemed to obey the law of the moment, as it stilled itself to a light sprinkle.

tyler's heart began to dance to a different beat as josh leaned in closer. 

and finally, _finally_ , their lips connected. tyler sighed deeply into the kiss, and for a moment he had forgotten why he was even in josh's room at 2am. 

but he didn't really need a reason, after all.

because when josh pulled back and looked into tyler's eyes with an expression tyler had never seen so unfiltered, then that was all the reason he needed.

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading just another drabble i wrote at 2am.  
> as always, feel free to leave comments!  
> stay alive, friends


End file.
